Tales of Rune-Midgarts V: The Tale of Elua - Of Wayward Winds
by Thiji Higuri
Summary: The fifth chapter in the transitory series which details the events of the 12 characters' individual adventures. The high-flying Huntress Elua spends her "vacation" venturing out into the fields for ingredients to create an emollient, but her adventure takes an interesting turn when she is beset by several dangers from random lightning strikes to... herbivorous Orcs?
Within Amatsu, the dawn was greeted by the rising sun as its warmth brought forth the promise of a new day. Much of the damage wrought by a certain red-haired Knight from a recent festivity had been repaired overnight, and despite the circumstances that occurred, no one thinks less of the _Battle Vixens_ as everyone had believed the cause for the disruption was due to "outside influences."

High above the town, a large bird was soaring through the clouds, exemplifying its extraordinary aerodynamics as it tucked its wings and corkscrews back down to earth, landing on the shoulder of a girl in an emerald green Hunter's outfit. The Elven Huntress, Elua of the _Battle Vixens_ , and her trusted companion, Mukuhawk, were out bright and early for training. Lightly touching his beak, she smiled.

"Beautiful form, dearie!" she complimented the bird. "I can tell that the injury has all but healed up now! Awesome! Thanks for being such a trooper, Muku! My sisters and I owe you so much."

Gazing out toward the horizon, she welcomed the sun with widespread arms, basking in the beauty of the new day. With a deep breath the Huntress took in as much of the morning air as her lungs were able before somersaulting off of a tree in which she was standing. She would then make her way back home with a bright smile before declaring to herself: "Let's go and rouse the sisters!"

Climbing up the pagoda-like structure with her acrobatic skills, she had arrived at the window in Aege's room, slowly opening it before jumping inside to yell "Good morning!" at the top of her lungs to the Blacksmith. Aege would jump out of her bed in surprise and thus fall to the floor as a result.

"Oh… a new day… hooray!" Aege replied in pain.

The Huntress then made her way to her baby sister's room and picked her up to embrace her.

"Good morning, baby sister! I am incredibly glad to have someone as cute as you to be my relative!" Elua cheered.

"Thanks for the compliment… I think," the Assassin drowsily replied.

She would then make her way to Lupi's room, which was dark due to the closed curtains on the opposite end.

"Big Sis! Open those curtains and let the sun shine in!" Elua declared as she did the deed herself. As soon as the light would touch her face, Lupi sprung up from her bed and glared daggers at Elua, her scarlet tresses ruffled from her slumber.

"You've been way _too_ invigorated, it seems…" grumbled the Knight as she rose from her bed, immediately heading toward her mirror to manage her hair. "I'm telling you this as a sister and as a friend, Elua – honestly, I wish you weren't so damn euphoric."

"Don't be so capricious, Big Sister," Elua exclaimed, "and smell the fresh air!"

"I prefer to smell it when I so choose, thank you…" Lupi snidely remarked. The Huntress shrugged her shoulders and made her way downstairs to commence cooking as her bird was out getting some more exercise in. It did not take long for the sisters to come downstairs and notice that Elua had already prepared a large breakfast for them. Sporting a green "Kiss the Huntress" apron, Elua brought the last couple dishes to the table and called Mukuhawk in to eat…

Elua: Eat up, sisters! I want everyone to have as much strength as possible for today!

Lupi, in a sarcastic tone: Well, _someone_ must have had a nice dream…

Heal-Do, sitting down: This is very kind of you, Elua. Thank you very much!

Aege, also sitting down: This really is an awesome breakfast. Thank you!

Elua, giggling: My sisters deserve only the best!

As the _Battle Vixens_ took their seats and began eating their scrumptious breakfast, The Huntress decided to spark a conversation…

Elua: How about that party a few days back? That was quite an unexpected turn of events, yeah?

Lupi: It was… pretty interesting. And this earring appeared and my lance transformed because of it.

Elua: I'm happy you're getting stronger! But yeah, that _does_ seem weird that a _party_ helped you unlock your potential.

Heal-Do: Maybe it didn't have to involve an actual party, per se…

Aege: What are you thinking, Heal-Do?

Heal-Do: Well, Lupi became stronger when she tapped into her core emotions… she was infuriated and enraged when whatever happened happened, and it must have gotten to such a point where she unlocked some sort of hidden potential.

Lupi: I'd believe it.

Aege: So we just have to stick to what we're doing, and we'll get it eventually.

Elua: Sounds about right!

Moments later Elua rises to her feet and makes her way out the door when she is stopped by her elder sister.

Lupi: Oi. Where are you going all of a sudden? You didn't eat much.

Elua: I want to make an extract, so I'm off to collect Aloe plants!

Aege, with her mouth full: You sure you don't need a hand, sis?

Elua, giggling nervously: Oh, no, no, no! Mukuhawk and I can take of this ourselves, don't worry!

Lupi, thinking: _I already_ am _worried about you, otherwise I wouldn't have asked…_

Elua: Although, Heal-Do…

Heal-Do: Yes, sister?

Elua: I urge you to join me for something later. You're perfect for what I have planned for this evening.

Heal-Do: Oh! Certainly, I'd be glad to join… I think.

Elua: It's settled then! See you all soon!

The Huntress leaves home, shutting the door behind her – everyone but Lupi is keeping a straight face…

Lupi: That girl is going to get herself killed going out alone like that.

Heal-Do: Big Sister, don't be so harsh!

Aege: She can hold her own – are you scared for her?

Lupi, sighing: No… it's just that I get bored when I haven't had a battle in a while; you all know this.

Aege: She's got her bird to watch her back – you don't need to worry!

The Knight shrugged her shoulders and resumed eating her breakfast. Meanwhile, Elua had arrived within Geffen Town with Mukuhawk on her shoulder. Heading westward, she traversed through the busy streets to make her way out of the city when she would cross paths with a familiar Kafra. She was seen outside the Tower handing out free teleportation tickets to passing-by Novices...

Elua: Kafra Nora! Hey!

Nora: Holy heck, it's the high-flyin' Huntress herself! How you doin' today, Elua?

Elua, jumping up and down: Energetic and rarin' to go! You know, I'm starting to enjoy running into you a lot – you're always in good spirits like me!

Nora: Well, that makes two of us! When you're doin' what you love, you'll _always_ be happy!

Elua: Amen to that! By the way, I like the whole green thing you got going on there!

Nora, gesturing to her uniform: Oh, this? This is actually teal, darlin' – a sorta blue-green color. Think cyan, but darker!

Elua: Oh, I see!

Nora: So, what can the Kafra Corporation do for ya' today?

Elua: I'm just trying to make an extract – I'm looking for Aloe plants.

Nora: You'd wanna head west, then. But be warned that goin' too far west will lead you to Orc territory!

Elua: Mukuhawk and I can handle a few greenskins!

Nora: I don't doubt ya, but watch out for the Orc Hero!

Elua: Orc Hero?

Nora: He led the charge against the Normans during the war; his skill with the blade is said to be formidable enough to shake the heavens and bring down thunder!

Elua: Then the Normans will be grateful that I put a fiend like him out of his misery! That is, if I come across him. Oh! Which reminds me – sorry about that whole party fiasco! We have no idea what the heck happened!

Nora: "Outside influences," everyone's sayin'… but don't worry about it! No one died!

Elua: Hehe, true! Well, thanks for the tip, Miss Nora!

The Huntress waved farewell to Nora and continued her way west and out of Geffen, towards the large stone drawbridge that led to the city outskirts. It was noon in Rune-Midgarts and the sky was clear, giving a tranquil air throughout the Geffen Fields. Basking in nature's bounty, Elua decided to distract herself from her objective for a brief while by offering berries and small treats to the local fauna and practicing her acrobatic skills by jumping from tree branch to tree branch.

A good thirty minutes had passed until Mukuhawk began to display strange behavior by flapping his arms wildly.

"Mukuhawk, are you all right?" said the Elven Huntress in slight concern. Up in the trees was a figure cloaked in shadow, watching silently from above. The falcon then shot up into the air, circling the creature like a bird of prey. "Mukuhawk, what do you see?!" With a high jump, her companion caught her with his talons and gestured to the creature below – from what it looked like the figure sported blue and black fur… but that was all they would discern before the creature swiftly escaped their vision, using its quick speed to outrun them.

"After him, Mukuhawk!" Elua commanded. The duo swooped down into the trees to pursue the fleeing creature, slowly gaining on it as the chase took them further westward into the forest. Just as Elua was within _meters_ of discovering what the blue-and-black creature was, in an unexpected twist, a _thunderbolt_ blindsided them and sent the two flying off-course into a nearby tree! The resulting impact was sufficient to uproot the tree and plummet to the ground with them lying flat on its trunk.

Another figure – seemingly a male - appears out from within the brush beside the creature, which purred lightly from being petted. Scattered around the forest floor were the corpses of what appeared to be green-skinned humanoids, along with pieces of crudely-made bows and axes…

"That was way too easy… and to think that _White Trinity_ lost embarrassingly to them at the Emperium Citadel…" sneered the mysterious figure. "Speaking of… I think it's time we paid him a visit."

In a flash of lightning the creature and its master vanish without a trace. A long while had passed until Elua and Mukuhawk began to revive from their unconscious state, though a tumble off the tree trunk (painfully) helped speed up the process…

"OOF!" the Huntress grunted. "Geez, what the heck was that just now…? That was just _random!"_ Elua looked to the sky and judged the time via the sun's position and gasped loudly. "I was out cold for two hours?! _Two hours I'll never get back?!"_

The Elf threw a small fit before calming herself. "Well, I guess I can't contemplate over it now. I still have to find those plants!" After dispensing the contents of a white potion on herself and Mukuhawk, she got her gear and continued down the forest path until she would make her way to a clearing. Once crossing the threshold, her eyes sparkled in happiness at the sight she beheld: a large lake strewn about with plants and roots of numerous species.

"Oh… Em… _Gee!_ " exclaimed Elua, mimicking some slang she probably picked up from other adventurers. "This is _exactly_ what I've been looking for! I mean, granted, it took a few hours, but I found it!"

As she approached the lake, Mukuhawk let out a loud _"SQUAWK!"_ noise, slightly startling Elua. Before she had time to address her companion, however, her eyes were fixed on the direction he was looking, and would become wide at what – or in this case, _whom_ – she saw: it was another green-skinned creature identical to his fallen brethren, only this one donned a golden helm adorned with numerous plumage. His armor was also golden along with the tower shield in its left arm, and in his right arm was a steel blade caked with blood – she had immediately surmised that this creature has seen a great many battles. Flanking his left and right were eight blue-skinned humanoids wearing leather armor, equipped with hatchets and round, wooden shields.

" _Uh-oh… I hope this isn't one of_ those _encounters!"_ Elua said in her mind.

"Normans do not belong in this area – least of all _Elves!"_ said the golden-clad greenskin in a gruff voice.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I don't see your name anywhere, but I guess you don't need much introduction, do you? You're the Orc Hero!" Elua deduced.

"Yes – the greatest of our proud race, and bane of the Normans!" snorted the Orc Hero. "But we did not expect an _Elf_ to trespass on our private eating spot! We know of the arrogance your kind brought to the realm, and yet you consort with Normans?!"

"They're not really bad, once you get to know 'em! And you don't need to remind me of Geffenia's fall!" Elua responded as she nocked an arrow. "Besides, Orcs should be in their crudely-made mud huts eating meat straight off the bone of the animals they slay!"

The blue-skinned orcs – High Orcs, specifically – roared in protest of the Elf's bold insult. The Orc Hero stepped forward.

"Your affront to the Orcs will cost you dearly, puny Elf. Prepare to die!" he declared as he ordered his mooks to charge. Drawing her arrow back, Elua snickered before releasing an arrow that found its mark right between the eyes of one of the High Orcs.

"Bring it on, creeps…" she said confidently. Mukuhawk jumped from Elua's shoulder and took to the skies with blinding speed before nosediving into one of the charging minions, striking him down with little effort and reducing the party to six. Three would strike at the Elf with their axes in which Elua would dodge gracefully, much to the Orc Hero's annoyance. Seeing an opening, Elua dashed forward, avoiding another swipe as she hopped off a High Orc's head and aimed her bow downward as she cried, " **Arrow Shower!"**

"Shields up, you fools!" ordered the Orc Hero. Four of them were quick enough to block the onslaught of arrows raining upon them, but two were less fortunate and found themselves turned into pincushions.

"Mukuhawk, **Blitz Beat!"** Elua commanded. The falcon swooped down and charged at the Orc Hero, who brought his tower shield up to absorb the brunt of the attack, causing a shockwave to erupt from the point of impact. Mukuhawk and the Orc Hero were forced back from the collision with the former suffering from it more due to recoil, but maintained balance and flew back to Elua's side, keeping the High Orcs off her. The latter, however, noticed his tower shield breaking from the attack, which sent him into a fit of rage.

"IMPOSSIBLE! I WILL HAVE YOUR HEAD, ELF!" he roared. "STAND ASIDE! I WILL DESTROY HER MYSELF!"

"Don't be so sure of yourself…" Elua remarked as she kicked an approaching-from-behind Orc in the stomach. Stabbing his sword into the ground, the Orc Hero called down bolts of lightning upon the surrounding area, delivering a fatal shock to his remaining cohorts.

"You Orcs always _were_ out of control… I'd expect their Hero to be more restrained!" Elua taunted. She would then hold her ground and brace for the Orc Hero's assault. He would indeed charge full speed at her, bellowing with rage. As he would be within arm's length of Elua, however, his entire body became encase in ice in an instant – The Huntress laid a Frost Trap during his uncontrollable fit of anger!

With a simple "Hmph," she kicked the Orc Hero's head with sufficient force to lob it clean off, and while holding that same pose, placed the bow between her legs and fired a wind-imbued arrow at point-blank range, shattering the rest of the Orc Hero's body into a million pieces!

"Didn't even touch me!" Elua commented, now focusing on the lake to begin her foraging… "So, let's see, we got our Aloe for its curative properties... I can make an herbal emollient for my meditation session with Heal-Do! Some Mastela Fruits would be good, too – the juice made from them are excellent for calming both mind and body."

After spending a good ten minutes harvesting, Elua placed the gathered flora into her satchel and threw it over her shoulder. A powerful gust of wind would then appear and blow throughout the forest, which lightly surprised Elua, knowing that the weather had been relatively calm today. She paid little mind it, however, and would take one last souvenir with her. She rode the wind eastward, hastening her flight back to Geffen where she would find Kafra Nora again at the town square…

Elua, disembarking Mukuhawk: Hey, Kafra Nora!

Nora: Oh, hi there, darlin'! Enjoy your trip?

Elua: It was a gas! I also have something for you!

Nora: For _me?_ Well, aren't you just precious!

Elua takes a large, wrapped object from her satchel and throws it to Nora, who catches the seemingly heavy item with one hand. Opening it, her eyes widened for a moment before giving a surprised chuckle – she was looking at the still-frozen severed head of the Orc Hero she slew.

Nora: Well, I'll be! You turned that Hero into a _legend_ now!

Elua: Well, we _Battle Vixens_ aren't all bad! Well, maybe our sister Lupi, mostly…

Meanwhile, back at Amatsu, Lupi felt a sneeze coming and let one loose with such power that sparks shot out and ignited a nearby fruit stand.

Aege: _What the hell, Lupi?!_

Lupi: It came out of nowhere! Not my fault! It's my body's!

Aege: In more ways than one…

Lupi: _BITCH –_

Back at Geffen…

Nora: Well, we can definitely use this for an auction or somethin' for the maniacs out there…

Elua: Good idea! Oh, also… if it's not too much to ask, and you're probably getting tired of being asked this, but –

Nora: Mm?

Elua: Do you have any idea when the Frontier will show itself again?

Nora: No, I'm afraid not, dearie. Since those energy signatures appeared we only been makin' minimal progress in repairin' them – but by the way I see it, we won't get anywhere anytime soon…

Elua: Well, no use mulling over it… I need to get back home and deliver these to Heal-Do!

Nora: Lemme teleport you there! You're probably tired from bein' out in the woods all day!

Elua: Appreciate it!

Nora: Anytime! The Kafra Corporation is always here for you! See ya!

With a clap of her hands, Elua would feel herself dematerialize as she traveled through space to make it back to Amatsu. The same gust of wind from earlier blew through Geffen, catching a lot of the citizenry off-guard, and nearly knocking off Nora's headband.

" _Goodness! Where'd this wind come from?"_ she thought. Elua had reappeared just outside her home with her newly acquired items, finding only Heal-Do present.

"Hey, I'm back!" announced the Huntress. "Where are Lupi and Aege?"

"They went out for some fresh air," Heal-Do replied. "But I think they burned down a stand…"

"What the hell…?" gasped Elua. She pondered over it for a moment before shaking her head and making her way towards the opposite end of the building which resembled a tatami room. Heal-Do went to shower and change as Elua prepared to create her emollient and incense. The process took a few good hours before the two would meet downstairs in the tatami room in their respective color-coded nightgowns as the evening had arrived. The Aloe plants had been converted into a special incense that filled the room, calming the mind and spirit.

"I feel so relaxed…" sighed Heal-Do after taking a deep breath. Elua giggled and sat down with her legs crossed, assuming a meditative stance… the two sisters perform deep, controlled breaths through the nose, taking in the incense to further calm and focus themselves. As they continued their meditation, the both of them could feel themselves becoming more centered, more focused. Thoughts of the Emperium Frontier, as well as their encounters thus far, swirled in their minds…

" _The Emperium Frontier…"_ thought the Elf. _"White Trinity… The Holy Saviors…"_

Heal-Do's mind was clearer than a pristine pool, easily getting into the meditation. After a few brief moments, however, the wind had started to pick up, which would throw off-balance once it accelerated from a zephyr into a small gale.

" _The Emperium Frontier… White Trinity… The Holy Saviors…"_ Elua chanted again, as if turning her words into some sort of mantra. The winds had begun to intensify as Heal-Do had actually begun to _see_ it – green waves of energy began to flow into the room, dancing around Elua…

" _The Emperium Frontier… White Trinity… The Holy Saviors… Free yourself… Become… the wind."_

The strange waves of energy converged into a tornado, swirling around Elua and sweeping her off her feet. Heal-Do jumped back in fright as she shielded her face from any flying debris. She did not utter a word as she witnessed her older sister's transformation… she knew Elua as an outgoing and carefree girl with a dash of wild thrown in. But this time she was calm and collected – focused, even.

"Just like the wind…" Heal-Do whispered to herself. From Elua's teetering balance of calm and wild, the winds around her swirled relentlessly, and her Gust Bow would undergo a monumental change. The weapon completely broke, leaving behind its elemental essence. A _new_ weapon began to take form in Elua's right hand: the Elven symbol of wind becomes etched upon the new bow; its bowstring materializes from condensed wind essence, and on both sides of the arrow rest were small wind orbs which channeled its power. The weapon pulsated a bright lime green color as it was drawn. As for Elua, her elemental dominion over wind was augmented through an earring born from the essence of the tempest which appears on and dangles from her left ear.

Once her transformation had completed, the winds died down and the Huntress would slowly float back down to the floor, falling to her knees. She opened her eyes and looked around and saw nothing had really changed save for the new weapon in her hand, and that she was _barefooted –_ but that didn't faze her.

"Congratulations, sister. You must have gotten in touch with the emotions your element signifies," Heal-Do stated as she picked her Elven sister up. "Your hair even changed!"

With a gasp, Elua felt her hair and noticed immediately that it was not loose and long as usual – it was a braided ponytail that stopped at her lower back.

"Well, how about that…!" Elua giggled. She then flipped the ponytail over her shoulder so that it hung down from her chest to better diversify herself. "I think I'll call this weapon… Tempest… Fury!"

"Tempestfury? That's a good name!" the Assassin agreed. "The Tempestfury Longbow! Let us drink to celebrate!"

"You said it, sister!" Elua followed, picking up their cups of Mastela Juice and giving one to Heal-Do. She then rose her cup and declared, "To the tempest!"

"To the tempest!" Heal-Do giggled before clinking their cups together and drinking the contents. As they finished their juice, however, they began to experience slight dizziniess… "Sis…? I feel a little funny… the room is spinning wildly…"

"You know… I feel a bit funny, too…" Elua replied as she attempted to keep her balance. "What's going… I… I don't…"

After a minute of their dizzy spell, they succumb to the "poison" and fall unconscious. A cloaked figure then emerged moments later from within the shadows, then all faded to black…

The following morning, Lupi and Aege had finally arrived back home from their "extended breath of fresh air…"

Lupi: Talk about an interesting night. That was one I'd consider enjoyable!

Aege: You enjoy _anything_ if there's a fight involved…

Lupi: Who cares?! As long as I was able to –

Their noodle incident would be interrupted when they would find Heal-Do on the floor on the verge of returning to the waking world.

Lupi: What in the -?!

Aege: Baby sister, what are you doing on the floor? Tatami flooring is comfortable and all, but we _do have beds,_ you know.

Heal-Do, drowsily, shaking her head: Huh…? Wha…? Oh… I have no idea, honestly. I remember meditating with Elua last night, and then we drank some juice made from Mastela Fruits, and before we knew it, we became intoxicated and passed out.

Aege: Well, that doesn't sound right…

Lupi: Yeah! Maybe _I_ wanted some Mastela Juice! You saved none for _us?!_

Aege: No, Lupi, I meant Heal-Do and Elua's little episode – speaking of, where _is_ Elua?

Heal-Do: What do you mean? She's right here, next to –

Gesturing to her left, they would all look in that direction and find that the Elven Huntress has disappeared with the exception of an incapacitated Mukuhawk taking her place.

Lupi: What in the hell is going on here?!

Aege: Well, she's got to be back in her room, for sure. Let's go!

Leaving the unconscious bird behind, the three sisters hasten to the upper levels of their home to find Elua sleeping in her chambers – _nude,_ with blushing cheeks and a big smile on her face.

Lupi: What -? Elua's sleeping again? Something is definitely wrong here. (Shouts) _ELUA!_ What are you doing still asleep?!

The Huntress stirs and wakes, batting her eyes as she looked around in confusion.

Elua: I… don't know!

Heal-Do: And why aren't you wearing anything?

Elua: Wait a minute, _what?!_ What am I doing in my bedroom?! And why am I –

She paused for a moment, flashing back to the moment she went unconscious and all she remembered afterward was some dark figure taking her to bed – though why she was naked remains a mystery. She gave a dreamy smile and fell backwards on her bed.

Elua, dreamily: Oh, _now_ I remember…! Some gentleman tucked me to bed when I passed out from that Mastela Juice…!

As the _Battle Vixens_ attempted to deduce what exactly occurred, two figures stood just outside their home. One was robed and the other had his face concealed in a mask…

Robed Figure: This is going to become a running gag for you, isn't it…?

Masked Figure: So long as they don't know who did it, why should I care? My mission is complete.

Robed Figure: You could at least give the Elf her clothes back…

Masked Figure: But you know our line of work – we complete our duties without leaving any evidence behind.

Robed Figure: The absence of evidence is not the evidence of absence, my friend.

Masked Figure, tossing Elua's clothes to the front entrance: That should be _my_ line.

The mysterious duo make their way out of Amatsu, leaving nothing behind save for a very satisfied young Huntress and a very confused (one of whom had grown furious after a while) trio of sisters.

 _The Tale of Elua - End_


End file.
